


God Eater ∑: The Maxim of Possibility

by SHIOCON



Series: God Eater "Sigmaverse" [2]
Category: God Eater (Video Games)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-23 15:56:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14335944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SHIOCON/pseuds/SHIOCON
Summary: The world is decided by coin flips and made up of the times the coin has landed on heads.But not this world.This is the tale of a world born from a "tails", a world in which hope was crushed to dust at humanity's most crucial moment.





	God Eater ∑: The Maxim of Possibility

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2 of my huge GE fic series. This one contains other wiki users' characters.

There are countless what-ifs in the world, situations that one wonders how they would have occurred differently should certain circumstances be altered. What if I had done this differently? What if so-and-so had been born in a different time? What if that person took just a second longer to get there–

–or what if hope died out completely, leaving only despair instead of a bright future?

It is one such situation, one such what-if, that we will be examining here. Remember, if you will, the struggle of Nanako and Sigma against the encroaching Gehenna, the supermassive Aragami capable of laying waste to entire continents. Now, let us return to that moment, frozen in time…

***

“But Sigma, you’ll…” Nanako began, but Sigma cut her off.

“–die? Not likely. I’m an Aragami, you know, so I should be fine. Please, Nanako… press the button. Activate Gigantes. For all of mankind.”

Nanako swallowed, tears streaming down her face, as she reached out and shakily pressed the button that would activate the process that would power the cannon and steal away the life of its user. As the barrel started crackling and moving into position, beginning the process that would automatically lock onto the core of its target, Sigma began to cry out in agony as Oracle Cells flowed from his body en masse into the Gigantes. This was it, the both of them knew. With this… humanity would be saved.

As the Gehenna approached, Sigma cried out “Take this, you damn monsteeeeerrrrrrrrrrrr!!!”–

–fire.

The world seemed to freeze as the Gigantes let off its first shot, a crackling beam of green light erupting forth as the armor-piercing projectile shot out of the Gigantes’ barrel, aimed straight for the Gehenna’s heart…

…but a slight sway in the Gehenna’s step, and its massive upper body moved ever so slightly, just enough for the Gigantes’ projectile to barely scrape by its target.

–No. No, this couldn’t be happening. Their one chance, gone. Now there was nothing stopping the Gehenna from crushing everything in its path and completely ravaging the planet in its wake.

“Sigma,” Nanako frantically called out, “isn’t there something, ANYTHING you can do?”

Sigma slumped to the ground, his hand still gripped tightly by the Gigantes’ control module. “I’m afraid that was it,” he answered, his voice tinged with dread. “There’s nothing I can do on my own against that thing even at full power, and with the Gigantes having sapped most of my energy…” Sigma looked down and shook his head in dejection.

Humanity had lost.

“So… we’re all going to die, then?” Nanako asked fearfully.

“In so many words, yes,” Sigma replied. “The only thing that could have stopped the Gehenna has failed. We’re… humans… are done.”

A fog of dread seemed to hang over the Glasgow Branch. In little over an hour, everyone here would die, and the Gehenna would go on to visit the same fate upon everything in its path. The world was done, and there was not a single thing anyone could do about it.

“…no.”

Nanako looked up in response to Sigma’s sudden vocalization.

“What was that?” she asked.

“Not yet,” he repeated. “We might not be able to beat that thing today… but perhaps a few years down the line, what’s left of humanity might be able to fight it.”

He turned to Nanako. “Nanako, I’m entrusting you with my and humanity’s hope. I need you to promise me that you’ll survive until an opportunity to defeat the Gehenna presents itself.”

“And how the hell am I supposed to be able to do th–”

Nanako’s words were cut off as Sigma suddenly produced a blade and plunged it into Nanako’s heart.

“I will convert what little life force I have left into Oracle Cells and circulate them throughout your body. You’ll become part Aragami, but you’ll be able to wield a God Arc without bias factor injections. Please, Nanako. I won’t be able to survive, but I need you to promise me that you’ll do what you can to lead humanity towards the end of the tunnel we’re about to enter.”

Nanako could only look on as she felt Sigma’s energy flow throughout her.

And as the Gehenna drew near…

***

::ELEVEN YEARS LATER::  
::DECEMBER 12TH, 2078::

“Stalker, dead ahead!”

A crowd of God Eaters scrambled to face their target, rallied by their leader, a grizzled young woman wearing tattered clothes and sporting wrappings over her right eye. 

In the years since the great disaster, a new breed of Aragami had arisen from the wake of destruction brought about by the Gehenna. These Aragami were faster, smarter, and far more vicious than anything humanity had seen since, and with their tendency to actively seek out prey, what parts of humanity hadn’t been annihilated by the Gehenna were quickly thinned out even further. By most estimates, there were probably fewer than ten thousand humans left. Most of these had organized themselves into resistance groups, pooling their resources and military might to survive against what came to be known as the Neo Aragami that hunted down humans day and night with no true respite. 

One such resistance group was now facing down a particular Neo Aragami known as a Stalker – a quadrupedal beast with a face vaguely resembling a wolf or fox, sporting a hooked tail and a multitude of eyes all over its body. It was fast and vicious, the most combat-oriented variety of Neo Aragami, and was the most threatening species whenever it appeared. Ordinarily, even a seasoned God Eater would be completely unable to stand against it – something about their physical composition made them far stronger and more resilient than regular Aragami, and they shrugged off God Arc attacks like they were nothing.

Against a trained group, however…

The one-eyed woman barked out orders to her squad as they assumed position, preparing to face down the Stalker that had found them. Once it got within range, it would strike without hesitation, attacking with both its claws and fangs as well as its deadly tail. To defeat one, the woman knew, it was critical to disable the tail and attack its legs while it was stunned.

Fortunately, this wasn’t the woman’s first time at the rodeo, so to speak.

In a highly coordinated series of movements, the woman’s squad split off into two groups, one circling behind some ruined buildings while the other fanned out to flank the Stalker from the side.

“When I give the signal,” the woman relayed over her intercom, “Alpha Team will rush from behind while Bravo Team pressures the Stalker against the face of that building at two o’clock from my position. Ready?”

The woman brought out her God Arc, a short blade of brilliant white in the shape of a wing, and shifted it into its gun form, an equally brilliant sniper rifle, which she aimed directly at the Stalker from outside its range of attack. 

Clearing her mind, the woman steeled herself…

…and pulled the trigger.

The bullet whizzed through the air, piercing an eye on the Stalker’s tail and erupting in a spurt of blood.

“Now!” the woman shouted, and the two teams converged on the Stalker to face it down. Two of the God Eaters on Alpha team severed its tail using their blades in a manner akin to scissors, at which point the rest of the team converged their shots on its legs, laying it out.

The woman, meanwhile, readied another shot, aiming directly at the Stalker’s head. “Everyone, hit the deck!” she ordered, and let loose her second shot, piercing the eye directly at the center of the Stalker’s forehead. With a brief moment of struggle, the Stalker fell.

Both teams converged on the fallen corpse of the Stalker, all devouring in unison. It was essential to end all battles with Neo Aragami as quickly as possible – give them enough time, and they could signal for backup, and then even the most toughened squad was guaranteed a brutal end. Additionally, it was a requirement to completely devour a Neo Aragami’s entire corpse, for other Neo Aragami would always converge on the body of a fallen ally, and human scents could easily be tracked. 

“We give thanks for this meal,” the woman spoke, as she and her squad finished devouring. “Now, let’s pack it up and head back to base.” “Base” in this situation referred to a massive network of interconnected tunnels and underground chambers the resistance movements used as bases of operations. All above-ground facilities had been devastated by the Gehenna, prompting the surviving humans to move below-ground to survive.

As the woman and her squad began their march back to base, she felt a drop of rain hit the bridge of her nose. One by one, more and more raindrops began to fall, and soon a veritable deluge was accompanying their march. While unpleasant, this was to their benefit, as rain served well to mask their scent, ensuring no Neo Aragami would be able to follow them.

Eventually, the squad reached the entrance to their base – a subway system escalator hidden beneath a fallen facade of a nearby building. There were additional security measures in place, of course, but this at least helped to camouflage the entrance from cursory examination by any passing Neo Aragami in the area.

Generators powered by Oracle Cells had been set up, ensuring that they had light underground. The woman’s squad followed these lights down the broken escalator to the train platform at its base, where what awaited was a multitude of people from all walks of life, some God Eaters and some not. Regardless of their status, every one of them cheered for the successful return of their leader, for this meant that they were safe from the Neo Aragami for another day.

“Welcome back…” one child called out, stepping forward.

“–Miss Nanako.”

***

There was no celebratory feast in honor of Nanako’s return from the battlefield. This was not a happy occasion – it was merely a routine occurrence at this point. If someone comes back alive, good; if not, oh well, what could you do? That was the reality of the world in which humanity currently lived. Thanks to the Neo Aragami, death constantly lurked around every corner. Even the survivors who lived in underground settlements lived constantly on edge, fearful of the ever-present threat of death at the hands of a Neo Aragami that could cut their life short at any moment.

Nonetheless, those who did survive learned to make the most of the fact that they were alive, that they had lived to see another day – so while there was no celebratory feats in honor of Nanako’s return, those who lived in the Rhizome, as this base was called, were indeed grateful that their fearless leader had succeeded in staving off the day where their base is discovered and they all meet their ends. That would not happen this day.

“Citizens of the Rhizome!” Nanako proclaimed, climbing up on a raised platform to address her fellow compatriots. “On this day, I and my dear comrades have won us, all of us, a new tomorrow! While we will doubtless have little time for celebration, let us nonetheless give thanks that we have lived to see another day!” Nanako’s words were met with fervent cheering. Each and every one of these people, in some fashion, relied on Nanako – the assault team members, those who accompanied Nanako into battle, relied on her to lead them in the field, and the rest of those who lived in the Rhizome, the non-combatants who numbered approximately nine hundred, relied on Nanako and the assault team to protect them against the threat of the Neo Aragami.

And so this arrangement had continued for going on eight years. Eleven years ago, the Gehenna had trekked across the planet, flattening the surface everywhere it walked. Those humans who did not lose their lives in this initial calamity, numbering in the order of five million, made do with what they could find in the area of supplies – at least, until two years later, when the first Neo Aragami appeared. Consisting mostly of Stalkers and an expeditionary type known as Rangers, this initial wave of Neo Aragami scoured the planet over the course of the next year, methodically hunting down whatever humans they could and further reducing the remaining numbers down to around a few hundred thousand. 

At this point, what God Eaters existed among the surviving humans rallied the survivors into groups, moving underground and establishing civilizations in subway tunnels and train platforms. Nanako was among these first resistance leaders – at the age of sixteen, she was part of the first group of God Eaters who succeeded in establishing a team of other God Eaters to protect what humans they could from the Neo Aragami threat. They had set out and tracked down any humans they could find over as large an area as they could reasonably cover, bringing them back to their current base, a deep-underground subway network. 

Since then, Nanako and her fellow God Eaters had patrolled the surrounding area, hunting down and devouring any Neo Aragami nearby so as to prevent their base from being discovered. This ensured that the humans under their watch would survive for another day. Of course, this arrangement wasn’t perfect – every once in a while, a Neo Aragami would make it to the entrance of their base, but Nanako and her assault team never failed to meet the invader in the initial escalator before it made it all the way to the base. In this way, Nanako had kept these humans safe through her own strength, for the past eight years.

And, Nanako resolved, for as long as she could.

***

“Let us call this meeting to order.”

Nanako and her fellow God Eaters of the Rhizome gathered in a room branching off of a nearby tunnel from the main chamber. This room was commonly used for strategy briefings, where Nanako and her God Eaters would go over plans for defense and offense against the Neo Aragami. Depending on how their tactics changed, they would need to modify their general strategy for the foreseeable future. This time, though, something a bit different was of the order of the day.

“So,” Nanako began, turning to a God Eater to her right, “I understand that our scouts have located the Neo Aragami hive?”

“Not precisely,” replied the God Eater, a tall muscular man named Alan Croswell. Croswell was Nanako’s most reliable soldier in terms of pure military strength. Three years ago, he had singlehandedly struck down a Stalker after hours of prolonged combat, and since then his name had become famous among the God Eaters of the Rhizome as one of humanity’s strongest soldiers.

Croswell continued. “What we discovered wasn’t the hive proper,” he stated, “but a branch entrance. This thing likely continues for miles underground, ending up in the actual hive, which we hypothesize to be approximately a kilometer or more below the surface.”

“How far away is it, and in what direction?” Nanako inquired.

“About ten miles north-northeast from here,” came Croswell’s reply. “Normally, it would be no issue for our assault team to make the journey in less than a day’s time, but…”

“But… what?”

“We’ve confirmed the presence of multiple Watchers at the branch gate,” spoke Croswell with a grim tone.

Nanako shuddered. Watchers were among the deadlier of the known species of Neo Aragami. Standing over twelve feet tall, the Watchers were massive Neo Aragami resembling stone monoliths lined with six watchful eyes. They were usually used as guards, and never launched attacks on their own – however, they were known to counterattack viciously when provoked, or even merely when something entered their line of vision, assailing up to six targets at once with relentless homing lasers. They were truly the perfect defense, immune to most conventional forms of attack and never missing their targets.

“In that case,” Nanako advised, “we’ll have to reconsider our strategy. Croswell, Andersen…” Nanako motioned to Croswell and to another God Eater to her left, a girl by the name of Sasha Andersen. Sasha, a girl of no taller than five feet, had been misfortunate enough to be within sight of the Gehenna’s colossal foot crushing the London Branch, her base of operations. This instilled in Sasha a burning desire for revenge against the Gehenna and against the Neo Aragami that sprang up in its wake. Shortly after the first resistance groups were formed, Sasha made her way east and was picked up by Nanako and incorporated into the Rhizome’s team of God Eaters. Since then, she had proven to be incredibly proficient as a sniper, becoming an essential part of the Rhizome’s long-range support team.

“Croswell, Andersen,” Nanako continued, “you two will lead a preliminary attack force towards the direction of the branch gate. We’ll try and provoke the Watchers from outside their range, which is where you’ll come in. Sasha, I’ll assign you a team of snipers to handle this task. Focus on taking out the Watchers’ eyes from extremely long range. Now, we’ll very likely be spotted at some point, and the Watchers will likely send a heavy team of Rangers and Stalkers towards us. Croswell, you and I will handle this. We’ll intercept the advance team and take them out before they reach our snipers. It’ll be a tough battle, but with the two of us leading the charge, they shouldn’t pose TOO much of a problem. Understand?”

Sasha and Croswell both nodded in assent. Whatever needed to be done to ensure the long-term survival of the remnants of the human race, they would carry out without hesitation.

“Good,” confirmed Nanako. “In that case, we’ll come up with a detailed plan of attack, spend the next three days preparing, and launch our assault four days from now, first thing in the morning. Understood? Then this meeting is adjourned. I’ll call you all together tomorrow to begin preparations. For now, take it easy and rest yourselves.”

The God Eaters under Nanako’s command stood up and began to file out of the room. Nanako, however, motioned for Sasha to stay behind.

“Andersen,” Nanako began, “listen to me. I understand you’d like nothing more than for the Neo Aragami to be wiped off the face of the Earth – believe me, we all do – but no matter what, you have to keep calm. Rushing in with eyes blinded by rage will do nothing but get you killed. You are one of the linchpins of this operation, and we… no, all of humanity is relying on you. I need you to promise me that you’ll keep a cool head.”

“Of course,” Sasha replied. “I’m well aware of my importance in the upcoming operation, and I will do everything in my ability to ensure that everything goes off without a hitch.”

“Good,” affirmed Nanako. “That’s what I like to hear. Now go, and get ready for tomorrow. When preparations begin, I’ll need everyone on the assault team, you and Croswell especially, to be in top form.”

Sasha nodded and exited the briefing room, leaving Nanako by herself. This operation might just make or break humanity’s chance for survival… if they could make it to the hive and scale the Gehenna while it was dormant, they might be able to get to its core deep within its body and end it once and for all. Of course, Nanako knew that this plan’s chances for success were slim at best, but they had an obligation to go through with it… for their sakes as well as for all of humanity.

***

At last, the day of the operation arrived. Three days of preparation and rigorous training and situational drills had come and gone, and Nanako stood with her assault team at the entrance to the Rhizome, feeling the cold winter wind in her hair. It would be a long trek to where the sniper team, led by Sasha, would set up camp, leaving the rest of the team, led by Nanako and Croswell, to continue on and set the ambush. 

If everyone performed according to plan, the operation should go off without a hitch.

“Company ready… forward march!” exclaimed Nanako, prompting her team to begin the long hike in the direction where the Watchers had been reported.

As Nanako began to lead her team forward, though, a slight sound alerted her to the presence of something she had not accounted for. She knew what her team sounded like when marching; whatever this was, it was certainly not one of them. Had they picked up a straggler, or–

–no. This was too soon out of the gate.

It could only be one thing.

“Get down!!” Nanako shouted as she whirled around and threw her God Arc behind her with superhuman speed right as her team hit the deck. Sure enough, her blade’s trajectory planted it directly in the center of a lone floating Ranger, the unfortunate foe dropping to the ground immediately after being hit. Her team sighed a sigh of relief at Nanako’s having vanquished their unexpected foe.

“This one was probably just a scout,” exclaimed Nanako, retrieving her God Arc from the Ranger’s corpse and proceeding to devour it, as other members of her team did the same. “Its purpose was likely to look for remaining human settlements in the area and report back to the hive so that a proper suppression force could be sent out to finish the job. Fortunately, we got to it before it could do that…” Nanako withdrew her God Arc as she finished devouring. 

“…but let’s not get comfortable. There’s still ten miles between us and the branch gate, and who knows what’ll ambush us between now and then. Stay on your toes, men!”

Nanako’s squad nodded in affirmation before finishing their meal and rejoining Nanako. As always, they took extra care to devour every last scrap of the defeated Neo Aragami, down to the last cell, for more would invariably converge on the body otherwise. They would have to be similarly careful, they knew, as they trod across relatively open wastes –

–for in a world where the hunter was the hunted, one wrong move meant an untimely and immediate end.

***

It had been around three hours since Nanako and her assault team had departed the Rhizome en route to the location where they would carry out the operation against the branch gate of the Neo Aragami hive, where, deep beneath the surface of the earth, the Gehenna lay dormant. The plan was for a sniper team led by Sasha Andersen to draw the attention of the Watchers guarding the gate with long-ranged shots and force them to exhaust the Neo Aragami guarding the gate in retaliation. An interception team, led by Nanako and Alan Croswell, the Rhizome’s physically strongest God Eater, would meet the retaliation group halfway and suppress and destroy them before they could reach the sniper team, who would meanwhile continue to unload on the Watchers from extreme range, destroying their eyes and rendering them powerless. Once this was complete, the sniper team would rendezvous with the interception team and both would head for the now unattended branch gate together.

Or at least, this had been the plan, until Sasha’s initial sighting of the gate yielded an unexpected result.

“What do you mean, ‘it’s empty?’” Nanako could not believe her ears.

Sasha, however, repeated her earlier words. “Just what I said. There’s nothing guarding the gate. Here, see for yourself.” She moved aside, allowing Nanako to sight down the scope of Sasha’s sniper rifle-type God Arc – and, sure enough, the Watchers Croswell had reported at the strategy meeting four days ago were conspicuously absent.

“Huh, well what do you know,” exhaled Nanako. “I’m still about 500% sure this is a trap, though. In any case, we should hold our position here until 1500 hours, just in case.”

Croswell interjected. “You don’t think we should just rush in and crush ‘em now, commander?”

“Don’t be stupid,” came Nanako’s curt reply. “If they’ve withdrawn their guard, there’s literally only a single possibility that presents itself – it’s a trap, and an obvious one at that.” Nanako kicked at the ground in exasperation. “Those damn Neo Aragami might not be geniuses, but they’re apparently at least smart enough to realize that a tactic like this will keep us busy long enough for…”

“For what, exactly?” inquired Sasha, but the words had scarcely escaped her lips before she immediately realized what Nanako had noticed.

A chill ran down Nanako’s spine as she leapt into action. “God Eaters,” she cried out, breaking into a sprint in the direction whence they had come, “this is an emergency of the highest caliber! The Neo Aragami have most likely launched an attack on the Rhizome in our absence!”

One by one, the rest of Nanako’s assault team followed suit, running after their commander as her voice echoed over their intercoms. “That Ranger we met out front was probably there to ascertain whether we were at home. The fact that it didn’t return to the hive was likely a signal to the Neo Aragami back at home base that we had left, and thus for them to execute their own plan, meaning they’d pull back their guard and send an assault squad of their own the long way around to hit the Rhizome while we were out. Shit! Goddammit!” Nanako cursed her own shortsightedness as her own Oracle Cells superactivated and gave her the energy to sprint at speeds no normal human, and few God Eaters, would be able to match. “I can’t believe I missed that! And it was so obvious, too!” 

Nanako saved her breath and energy, concentrating entirely on returning to the Rhizome as fast as her legs would carry her. However, what was waiting for her was…

***

Sure enough, the Neo Aragami had beaten them there. The subway entrance was uncovered, and screams could be heard from within as the Neo Aragami mercilessly slaughtered any humans they could find. Nanako had been sure to leave a defense team of God Eaters behind just in case of exigent circumstances, so hopefully they could do what they could to minimize casualties, but it was a battle of attrition to be sure. Nanako dashed down the subway entrance and leapt from the top of the escalator, breaking her fall with her God Arc as she landed. Waiting for her were two Stalkers at her three and seven, as well as a number of a different species, the Slasher – a ring-like Neo Aragami lined with blades, whose purpose was to cut through prey faster than they could react and weaken them for the Stalkers to clean up. 

Nanako would not be defeated here, though, a sentiment affirmed by three bullets in quick succession nailing the Stalker in the head from behind her. Sasha and the sniper team had caught up – and immediately thereafter, a massive hammer came down from above, as Croswell had leapt from the top of the escalator and dealt a lethal blow to one of the Slashers.

“So you finally made it, huh?” Nanako exclaimed, her comment directed at Croswell and at Sasha who finished descending the escalator. “Good… now let’s clean up!”

Nanako and her teammates spread out and swept through the subway system, fighting their way through numerous Neo Aragami. The corpses strewn about caused Nanako a great deal of pain, but she knew that she must put that aside until the Rhizome could be cleared out.

The sound of a Stalker gaining on her from behind snapped her out of her thoughts – just as another Stalker closed in from in front. Nanako was trapped in a pincer attack between two Stalkers, with no way around either. Surveying the situation, she decided that the most efficient plan of attack would be to fire on the one behind her while continuing to face forwards, then use a second shot to propel herself forwards and sever the second Stalker’s head before it could react. It’d be risky, but…

She readied herself and prepared to form change her God Arc – but before she could act, there was a flash, and the head of the Stalker in front of her exploded in a bursting flash that erupted forth with multiple chained blasts. Immediately thereafter, there was another flash, and the Stalker behind her met the same fate, its body crumpling to the ground. 

Nanako knew that there could only be one person behind this…

…and, sure enough, out of the shadows stepped a God Eater with long blonde hair, her Sniper Rifle form changing into a scythe before devouring the corpse of the Stalker in front of her.

This was none other than Natalia Estheim, the Rhizome’s chief engineer and head (and sole member) of R&D. Natalia had been picked up early on in the Rhizome’s lifespan, taking on the role of weapons maintenance and bullet development. It was thanks to Natalia that the God Eaters of the Rhizome could combat unfamiliar Neo Aragami threats every time one arose, so it would be no exaggeration to say that the continued survival of the Rhizome rested almost entirely on Natalia’s shoulders.

“Natalia!” Nanako exclaimed, running towards her comrade while stepping over the Stalker’s corpse. “Man, am I glad to see you alive. How are the others?”

“Well…” Natalia began, “I managed to activate the emergency defenses for the deeper rooms in time, but they still got almost half of our civilian population and three of our God Eaters. We’re down to 537 civvies and 24 God Eaters in total.”

Nanako cursed and kicked at the ground. “Goddammit!” she shouted. “How did they know where we were? And how the hell could they have come up with this plan in the first place?”

“I guess the Neo Aragami are just a lot smarter than we give them credit for,” came the voice of Alan Croswell, who approached from Nanako’s rear. “My guess is that the hive isn’t just a physical location – it’s a collective, a hiveMIND, that all the Neo Aragami use to communicate.”

“If that’s true,” Nanako responded, “and I’m willing to bet it is… then humanity’s more screwed than we thought.” Nanako shouldered her God Arc and turned to face Croswell as Sasha caught up to the three of them. 

“At any rate,” Natalia interjected, “it’s been a while since the four of us were together like this, hasn’t it?” Natalia’s position within the Rhizome demanded she be in her lab constantly, so she rarely, if ever, got the chance to participate in strategy briefings. The four of them, though, made up the core of the Rhizome in every way; it was an unfamiliar and somewhat chilling feeling to see the Big Four, as it were, all grouped together.

“Indeed it has,” replied Nanako. “On that note, though… Sasha, Natalia, and Croswell. You three took separate routes to get here. Report to me your findings.”

Sasha was the first to respond. “I came in right after you,” she began, “and I only just caught up. Most of what I took care of was cleaning up the stragglers left behind after your run and taking care of some survivors here and there.”

“I took a bit of a detour,” continued Croswell. “I caught up with part of the defense team that stayed behind. They were having a bit of trouble with a team of Stalkers, so I gave them a bit of assistance. After that, I made my way back to the main tunnels and caught up with you.”

“I’d been in my lab all day, as usual,” answered Natalia, “so by the time the Neo Aragami attack began, I was putting the finishing touches on that beauty you saw back there.” She was referring, of course, to that brilliant display of bullet-based Oracle engineering that took out two Stalkers in a single shot each. “I left the lab about half an hour ago, and I’ve been clearing out Aragami ever since.” Natalia was not very adept at combat, so she preferred to take a support role with her bullets – but her support was second to absolutely none. With her taking a rear guard role in combat, the God Eaters of the Rhizome could rest easy knowing that their backs were covered.

“At any rate,” Nanako spoke, “it seems like the Neo Aragami are pretty much cleared out. Let’s spread out and search for any survivors and remaining Neo Aragami we may have missed, see to any wounds, then rendezvous at the main subway platform. They know we’re here now… we’ll need to make plans to move.”

“And where exactly will we move TO?” demanded Croswell.

Nanako, however, already had her answer. “To the northwest, there’s another series of tunnels – a concourse under the old city – that fell into disuse four years ago after it was cleared out in a Neo Aragami attack. They won’t expect anyone to still be there… we can move in and be safe there for the foreseeable future. Alright, dismissed!”

As Nanako’s teammates turned and traveled down various side tunnels, Nanako stood and contemplated. The plan for the move was perfect; as long as they stayed out of sight of any Neo Aragami and instantly annihilated any that did see them before they could communicate their finding to the hive, they should be golden. Should, of course being the operative word.

Nanako’s thoughts, however, were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a distant rumble. This gave Nanako a bit of a start – there was no heavy machinery in the Rhizome that made that sound, and no trains had run in the tunnels ever since the Gehenna’s rampage. 

But wait, that meant–

Nanako’s realization could not have come an instant sooner, as before she could react, the ground below her gave way as a massive gaping maw burst forth, its jaws opening around Nanako in what seemed like slow motion.

The Neo Aragami hadn’t been completely cleared out, Nanako realized. There was still a detachment of Crawlers lying in wait for just such a moment. 

And as Nanako descended into the Crawler’s mouth, its jaws closing around her, she knew that this could mean the end of all who called the Rhizome their home…

***

This was it, Nanako thought, as the Crawler’s jaws closed around her. Her own circumstances aside, there were probably well over ten Crawlers lying in wait beneath the base. Croswell, Sasha, and Natalia together could probably handle around three or four before being overwhelmed, but there was no way anyone else could handle a Crawler alone, and with this many…

Nanako had no more time to think, as the Crawler’s massive maw closed shut around her, shutting her off from the light and from the outside world…

***

The battle had gone on for hours, with the remaining three core members of the Rhizome doing their best to fight off the invading Crawlers. Croswell could beat one down in about two minutes, but he ran the risk of being swarmed by others while he did. Sasha and Natalia could cover him, of course, but not even Natalia’s special bullets could down a Crawler in a single shot. It was practically a battle of attrition at this point – while the three of them fought, other Crawlers were certainly rampaging throughout the Rhizome, devouring civilians and destroying the Rhizome’s structures. Certainly, they had been planning to move, but… 

And all the while, one thought ran through the minds of the three core soldiers: where the hell was Nanako?

Ever since the Crawlers started their attack, the Rhizome’s leader had been nowhere to be found! What could she be doing? It wasn’t like her to fall in battle… so what, then?

No matter what the circumstances, though, Croswell, Sasha, and Natalia all knew that they had to keep on fighting even in Nanako’s absence. Even if they were to lose their leader, it was their responsibility to keep going, both out of duty to themselves as well as to all the civilians who called the Rhizome their home. For all their sakes, they would repel the Crawlers, no matter what!

…Easier said than done, though. The fight had been going on for a while, and they were beginning to tire out. The last two Crawlers had made it a point to act perfectly in tandem, circling around the core members and diving underground to avoid their attacks. They had them almost taken out, but these tactics were steadily wearing them down.

Of course, these WERE the core members of the Rhizome, and that title didn’t come easily. Croswell did not hesitate to demonstrate this by igniting his hammer’s rockets, delivering a well-placed Boost Impact directly on a Crawler’s head as it emerged. The impact proved fatal to the Crawler, laying it out as its body stuck partially out of its makeshift tunnel. The remaining Crawler took that opportunity to attempt to close in on Croswell from behind –

– but it was to no avail, as Natalia and Sasha sniped it simultaneously, resulting in a massive and colorful explosion as the Crawler’s head blew to pieces. 

They’d done it at last – victory was theirs.

As they moved to devour all the Crawler corpses, Croswell decided to take command. “Alright, people!” he shouted. “In light of this assault, we’ll need to get moving immediately. Assemble all civilians and God Eaters – we depart in 0100 hours!”

Croswell, accompanied by Sasha and Natalia, went their own way while the surviving other God Eaters rallied the surviving civilians. “So,” Natalia began, as the three of them headed towards the surface to scout out the surroundings, “is the initial plan still on?”

“Of course,” replied Croswell. “Getting to the abandoned concourse to the northwest is our most viable option for the continued survival of the Rhizome. Moving in there should give us at least a few months to a year free of Neo Aragami assault – they rarely, if ever, scan over the same place twice, so we’ll be able to operate free of surveillance.”

Natalia turned to Sasha. “Sasha, can you use your eyes to scope out the area to the northwest and see if there’s any Neo Aragami waiting for us?” she asked.

“Of course,” came Sasha’s immediate reply. Readying her God Arc, she pointed in the indicated direction and gazed into her scope, specially built for extra-long-distance operation. Her scope, combined with her near-superhuman natural vision, could see for miles and miles, given no interruptions.

Sasha peered into the distance, gazing intently towards the horizon and scoping out for any waiting Neo Aragami. Fortunately, her examination came up negative…

…but the ground immediately rumbled, causing the three core members to take defensive stances as another Crawler emerged from the ground nearby, facing directly towards them. They prepared to attack –

– but before they could, a spurt of blood erupted from its long body as a blade cut through its hide from the inside. Over the course of a mere few seconds, the blade cut its way down the Crawler’s length, as a pair of hands reached out and pushed the gap apart, revealing a human figure drenched in the Crawler’s fluids, one that began to speak.

“I applaud your drive and initiative, Croswell,” the figure spoke, “but were you SERIOUSLY planning on leaving without me?”

The eyes of the three core members teared up as they gazed upon the figure of Nanako Kawashima, very much still alive.

“Goddammit, Nanako!” exclaimed Sasha, running up to Nanako and stopping just short of hugging her. “We all thought you were dead!”

“Well, as you can see, I am very much not dead,” came Nanako’s response. “Did you guys at least take care of the Crawlers?”

“Seamlessly,” replied Croswell. “Every last one has been completely and utterly annihilated.”

Nanako nodded in affirmation, attempting to wipe herself off. “Good… you all performed admirably in my absence. How goes the evacuation?”

Natalia came forward, handing Nanako a towel. “It’s currently in progress. We’ve got the other God Eaters assembling the civvies in preparation for a departure in less than an hour.”

“Alright,” replied Nanako. “Let me just clean myself off here and I’ll join you in a few minutes. For now, get back to work in rallying the civs. Understood?”

The three core members nodded in affirmation.

“Good… then move out!”

***

It had been five hours of nonstop walking. Nanako helmed a line – or rather, a long line-shaped crowd – of all the Rhizome’s denizens, with Natalia and Sasha heading up the sides and Croswell taking the rear. Everyone was tired and hungry, but they knew they had to press on. 

And lo, before too long, the familiar sights of a ruined city skyline came into sight over the horizon. This was their goal, and below the ground in the distance, their new home lay waiting for them. 

Nanako’s eyes gleamed with renewed hope and determination, for today, the members of the Rhizome would have a new front from which to launch their attacks on the Neo Aragami.

And thus... mankind’s counterattack begins.

***

::FIVE MONTHS LATER::

 

“Alright, fire!!”

At the shouted command, a volley of hundreds, no, thousands of bullets converged on a crowd of Stalkers. The shower of gunfire tore apart the unfortunate group of Neo Aragami, leaving mere scraps behind.

But the battle wasn’t over, for above the remains of the Stalkers hovered a cloud of Slashers, led by a rare sight – a single massive Watcher. Normally used for defense, Watchers were occasionally sent out to lead large-scale assaults on human settlements, taking a commanding role and directing the other Neo Aragami. Even a single Watcher would be cause for alarm for God Eaters…

But today was different. Now, humanity could fight back. And humanity WAS fighting back.

Once Nanako and the members of the Rhizome had made it to their new base, they had wasted no time in fortifying their defenses and setting up alternate entrances in case of an attack. Fortunately, no attack came, and the denizens of Rhizome Duos, as it was christened, came to know true prosperity, undetected by the Neo Aragami.

Shortly thereafter, Nanako had led an effort on the part of Rhizome Duos to network with other resistance groups so as to strengthen humanity as a whole by banding together with other survivors. This proved to be an incredibly fruitful effort, with the various resistance groups sharing information and resources with each other to fill any gaps other groups might have. With this, all of the groups involved could better ensure their own continued survival, while simultaneously aiding other groups and helping them to do the same.

It was truly the dawn of a new age for humanity, an age in which humans could truly take a stand against the Neo Aragami threat, and in which the hunter was now the hunted.

This change was especially apparent now, with hunting squads made up of members pooled from multiple resistance groups actively seeking out and exterminating any Neo Aragami they could find, with the objective of one day returning to the hive to end the Gehenna once and for all. One such group, led by Nanako and a man named Heinrich Liebert, the leader of an allied resistance group. Liebert was originally a member of the Fenrir Berlin Branch, but he was forced to take as many God Eaters and civilians as he could and flee the branch when the threat of the Gehenna loomed over the horizon. He fled west, eventually crossing the English Channel and joining up with survivors from the Dover Branch. When their branch came under attack by a massive detachment of Stalkers and Slashers some years later, Liebert and the head of the Dover resistance fled north with what survivors they could muster. Their journey took them through Leeds and Sunderland, and eventually they came to rest in Edinburgh, where they settled in and out of which they started basing their operations.

Now, Liebert and Nanako, having met two months ago as part of one of Nanako’s outreach efforts, were leading a hunting squad of approximately seventy God Eaters, having just finished obliterating and devouring a large party of Stalkers, as well as the accompanying Slashers and the lone Watcher. Such encounters had become far more frequent since they – the resistance movements collectively – had banded together and taken an active role in seeking out Neo Aragami to exterminate.

“Sir Liebert, Miss Nanako,” a voice from behind the two called out as one of Liebert’s subordinates approached to deliver a report, “squads two through seven have finished wrapping up their hunts and are heading here to regroup. Squad eight encountered a Watcher approximately five miles northwest of here but were successful in defeating it. Their captain wishes me to inform you that more Watchers were sighted further northwest. We believe that–”

“–That the hive is nearby, correct?” interjected Liebert. “Good… this is good. Nanako, how are the preparations for Operation Downfall proceeding?”

Nanako took out a small notebook and flipped through the pages. “Excellent. Rhizome Duos’ squad two, led by Alan Croswell, succeeded in securing territory to the north of our current home base. With this as a staging point, we should be able to press west-northwest for a continued assault within three weeks.”

“Furthermore,” she continued, “squad three, led by Sasha Andersen, has been highly successful in providing advance support to our expeditionary forces. Five days prior, they succeeded in dispatching a patrol of Rangers with accompanying Slashers before they could enter the defensive line of our northern territory. Additionally, Natalia Estheim reports that she has completed development of the ultra-long-range destructive round and hyper-piercing close-range round. These should increase our combat effectiveness on all fronts by approximately 50-60%.”

“Wonderful news,” exclaimed Liebert. “The time for Operation Downfall is fast approaching. Soon, we will be able to strike at the heart of the Neo Aragami hive and put an end to this waking nightmare once and for all.”

Nanako nodded, then turned to rejoin her team to make the journey back to Rhizome Duos. There was still one crucial task that still needed completion before Operation Overlord could commence, she knew. With their current military might, even joined with Great Britain’s other resistance groups, it was highly unlikely that they would make it to the core of the hive, believed to be an impossibly vast underground chamber where the Gehenna lay dormant, spawning Neo Aragami endlessly.

What they needed, Nanako knew, was a serious boost… and so Nanako picked up her radio and dialed in a particular frequency, one belonging to a particular resistance base to the south.

“This is Kawashima from Rhizome Duos. Yes… yes, we’re doing well, but that’s not why I called. Listen… I need to speak to your leader.”

“Put Baluar on the line. Operation Downfall is coming.”

***

The click of a cigarette lighter rang out in the desolate hall of a small church in Carlisle, a sound all too familiar to those who called it home. A flame ignited, and the click sounded again, as the lighter’s owner pocketed the worn piece of clamshelled metal and took a long drag on his cigarette.

When Nanako Kawashima had contacted him not more than an hour ago, he could hardly believe what he heard – that Operation Downfall, the combined final assault on the hive to eradicate the Gehenna, was so close on the horizon. He had been awaiting this day for years, longer than he could count and certainly for longer than people stopped bothering to keep track of the date. He remembered with no small amount of regret the day the Gehenna had awoken to ravage the planet, and he had suffered and struggled against the Neo Aragami that had sprung up in the Gehenna’s wake ever since then… but now, now was different. Humanity had gotten back on its feet to take back their world from the Neo Aragami, and now, now the time was at hand to eliminate the source, the originator of their hated foes, the cause of this waking nightmare that had plagued humanity all this time.

By his hands, he vowed, he would awaken humanity from this nightmare and bring them into a new day, the dawn of a new age.

“Sir Baluar,” a voice called out, interrupting his thoughts. A young woman, appearing no older than nineteen years of age, climbed out of a small hole in the ground, a ladder which led to the base proper, for which the abandoned church was merely an entranceway. “Preparations for your departure have been completed,” the young woman spoke, addressing the man before her. “We can leave at any time.”

“No need,” came Baluar’s reply, as he tossed his cigarette on the ground and stamped it out. “I’ll be making this journey on my own.”

“But sir, the Neo Aragami…” the woman remonstrated, only to be silenced by Baluar as he approached her and put a finger to his own lips.

“You know very well that a Neo Aragami or two won’t pose me any sort of threat,” he spoke. “And besides, we can’t afford to spare even a single God Eater from this base. I need all able God Eaters to remain here and protect the base in my absence. If I die, you all will go on living, but if anything happened to even a single one of you, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”

The woman would have none of this. “And how do you suppose the rest of us feel, huh?!” she exclaimed, her voice tinged with anger and sadness. “You’re the light of all of our lives, Baluar… sir. It’s thanks to you that all of us are even alive today. So please… don’t go alone.”

Baluar took a finger to his head, scratching at his scalp in puzzlement. “Okay, fine… you win,” he bemoaned. “I’ll take a team with me. Could you go and tell the rest that I’ll be departing in around an hour?”

The woman nodded, eagerly making an about-face and heading towards the base entrance –

– before Baluar delivered a swift chop to the back of her neck, laying her out.

“I’m sorry, I truly am,” he spoke, catching the woman as she fell and gently laying her on the ground, “but this is something I need to do alone, without endangering the rest of you.”

As he lit up one more cigarette and inhaled deeply, he contemplated the distance he’d come to arrive here, the hardships he had endured and the comrades sacrificed in the name of combating the Neo Aragami. But no more, he resolved. No more would human life be lost in vain, for now the time of humanity’s awakening was at hand.

And with that, the man called Baluar turned and exited the church, heading north, to rendezvous with the ones with whose aid he would bring this world to revolution.

***

A new day dawned on the people of Rhizome Duos. Nanako Kawashima awoke with a deep breath and a feeling of renewed determination, for she knew that humanity was on the verge of emergence into a new age. Within a few weeks, Operation Downfall would commence, and humanity would finally be liberated from the chains that had held them down for thirteen years.

But now was not the time for that. Now, Nanako needed to get ready to face the day – Rhizome Duos would today be welcoming a new regiment of God Eaters from a resistance group based out of the ruins of the far-off Saint-Nazaire Branch in France. They had journeyed for weeks to get here, and today marked their arrival and a new phase in preparations for Operation Downfall.

A knock came upon Nanako’s door, snapping her out of her daze. “You may enter,” Nanako called out, as the door opened and discharged Sasha Andersen into the chamber.

“I have arrived as per your orders,” Sasha stated, addressing Nanako as she finished dressing herself. “What was it you wanted to talk to me about?”

Nanako turned towards Sasha. “I assume you are aware of the God Eater detachment arriving today from Saint-Nazaire, correct?”

Sasha nodded.

“In that case, I would like you to spend the day until lunchtime at the firing range. The leader of the arriving detachment is known in his home branch as a famed sniper, and I would like to hold a bit of friendly competition between our two groups to strengthen camaraderie between us, especially since this particular God Eater will be working with you and your squad directly. Understood?”

Sasha gave an emphatic response in the affirmative. “I, Sasha Andersen, will lose to no one when it comes to talent and skills as a sniper!”

“Good,” came Nanako’s response. “In that case, go and get ready. I hope for some good results this afternoon!”

Sasha turned and exited Nanako’s room, leaving Nanako herself alone with her thoughts. With the arrival of the detachment from Saint-Nazaire, they would be able to strike decisive blows against the Neo Aragami with minimal direct confrontation and thus minimal loss of life – and the eventual assault on the hive, making up the bulk of Operation Downfall, would certainly have a far higher success rate. Any allies they could take on now would mean that much more aid when it came time to claim humanity’s future back from the Gehenna’s hands.

***

“I understand you’ve come a long way,” Nanako spoke. She was seated at a table in Rhizome Duos’ meeting room, and across from her sat a silver-haired man with gentle features and a crimson short blade-type God Arc at his side. 

“Indeed I have,” replied Nanako’s guest. “Our journey from Saint-Nazaire was fraught with peril, and we lost a few good men along the way… but it was worth it to get here, because now is when we will be able to strike directly at the heart of the Neo Aragami and eliminate the source once and for all. For that end, I will gladly lend all my God Eaters to the cause.”

Nanako sipped her tea, setting the clay cup on the table. “Sir Lyrr, I cannot thank you enough for your assistance.”

“No need,” came the reply of the one called Lyrr. “I only do what I must as a member of the human race.”

“Well spoken,” responded Nanako. “Now, would you be so kind as to accompany me to the staging ground…?”

Lyrr nodded, before rising from his seat and following Nanako out of the meeting room.

***

The staging ground, as it was called, was a vast underground chamber far below even the concourse area. It was generally used for mock battles and strategic exercises, but today it would play host to a different sort of spectacle.

When Nanako and Lyrr arrived at the staging ground, what they found waiting for them was Sasha, standing surrounded by a half-circular formation of all the God Eaters and civilians currently residing at Rhizome Duos. Everyone, it seemed, wanted to see what was about to go down.

“You must be the new guy,” Sasha called out, tossing Lyrr one of the two sniper rifles she had at her side. “We’re gonna be having us a little friendly contest. I assume you wouldn’t object?”

Lyrr shook his head as he caught the gun Sasha threw at him. These were no God Arcs; rather, they were ordinary – if high-powered – sniper rifles, generally used for practice exercises or range training. So these were what they’d be using today? Lyrr fingered his collar and took a breath. No little girl would show him up.

“The guns you’ve been given have been outfitted with live ammo for the purposes of this demonstration,” explained Nanako, motioning to two sets of seven targets each at the far end of the staging ground, placed at differing distances and elevations. “Each of you will take it in turns to fire on these targets. Points will be awarded based on three categories: speed, accuracy, and technique. Are there any questions?”

Both Lyrr and Sasha shook their heads. “I’ll show you that here in Rhizome Duos, there’s no one who can out-snipe Sasha Andersen!” proclaimed Sasha, as she took her position. “I hope you don’t mind if I go first?”

“No… it’s fine,” replied Lyrr. If he was to be working directly with this girl, he wanted to see what she could do.

Sasha crouched and aimed her rifle at the left-most target. She had spent weeks perfecting this technique, and now seemed like as good a time as any for it to make its debut.

Time seemed to slow down as Sasha squeezed the trigger faster than the eye could see, unloading seven rounds so quickly that the onlookers heard only a single shot. Sasha’s shooting skills were top-notch, and this was all too apparent as each of her seven shots found their mark with complete accuracy.

A hushed pause fell across the onlookers. Sasha might very well be the best sniper in the British Isles, and perhaps the entire world – a title which may very well be decided in the next moment, as Lyrr stepped up to the range.

“Since I can’t exactly let myself be shown up, I think I’ll up the ante a bit,” proclaimed Lyrr, before ejecting his rifle’s magazine of all but a single bullet. “If I don’t hit all of my targets with this one round, consider this contest my loss. I take it that’s fine with you, Miss Sasha?”

“I mean, yeah, it’s fine with me,” came Sasha’s reply, “but are you sure you can manage this? Hitting seven targets with only a single round? Good luck, man.”

Lyrr steeled himself, his finger resting on the trigger. “Luck? Please… this is all skill!”

And with that, the trigger was pulled, and a single round exited the barrel on a trajectory towards the targets. 

What happened next could only be described as miraculous, but was in fact entirely deliberate. The bullet hit the first target before ricocheting off, penetrating the second target and hitting the third, at which point it spun off at an angle and hit the fourth target backwards with the butt of the round, causing it to change orientation upon impact and ricochet again to strike the fourth and fifth in quick succession. It reflected again at an angle and struck the sixth target on the upper edge, causing the round to fly up into the air where, after a brief second of held breath, it came back down and hit the seventh and final target before clattering to the ground, its journey complete.

The crowd was silent, before erupting into thunderous applause. No one could believe what they had witnessed, but witnessed it they had. To say that this man’s sharpshooting skill was on a divine level would be an insult. With Lyrr on their side, Nanako knew, they would be able to crush the Neo Aragami like never before.

“Erm, well…” Nanako began, dumbfounded. “By all rights, Sasha gets full points for all three categories, but…”

Sasha interjected. “Oh please, Nanako. We both know who won this.” Sasha, in spite of her near-superhuman levels of skill with a sniper rifle, could never hope to come close to what the man called Lyrr was capable of. Sasha even half-expected Lyrr’s single round to have been a blank, just to add insult to injury, but no; his skill was genuine, and similarly genuine was the boon he provided to Rhizome Duos’ forces.

Nanako stepped forward and offered her hand, a gesture which Lyrr returned. 

“Welcome to Rhizome Duos, Lyrr.”

***

It had been a number of days since Lyrr’s arrival. The day of Operation Downfall was fast approaching, and the denizens of Rhizome Duos were in high gear with preparations for zero hour. God Eaters from all walks of life were in training, conducting mock battles and strategic exercises to sharpen their fangs, and lying in wait for the day they would finally storm the hive and slay the source of the Neo Aragami, the sleeping Gehenna.

Sasha and Lyrr had spent the last few days training together, teaching each other what they knew. With not one, but TWO of the world’s strongest snipers backing up the Operation Downfall assault team, humanity’s victory was all but assured.

Alan Croswell had put in an order with Natalia Estheim, Rhizome Duos’ R&D head, for a new God Arc. His wild battle tendencies meant a high risk of damage to his God Arc, so he asked Natalia to fashion him a new God Arc, a special gauntlet type, which would allow him a higher degree of control and a faster attack rate with less of a risk of undue damage.

Natalia herself had spent this time doing all the maintenance she could, as well as developing a new type of anti-Neo Aragami bullet using technology salvaged from the bodies of devoured Rangers. They knew the Rangers could communicate telepathically with the hive, so Natalia deduced that they must have been using some sort of quantum entanglement to facilitate this – Natalia thus fashioned a bullet that made use of quantum reshuffling to track the target and instantly warp to the target’s location. Truly, this was a marvel of modern science, the best technology the age had to offer.

Compared to the prior age, where the Neo Aragami made a sport of genocide against all of humanity, now was the age where humanity could hold their own against their former hunters – no, an age where humanity truly had the upper hand. 

And thus the members of Rhizome Duos waited, sharpening their fangs and biding their time…

***

“So what do you think?” asked Croswell, approaching Nanako in her strategy room. Operation Downfall was now merely a week away, and Rhizome Duos was collectively in their top form. They were more ready to fight than they had ever been… but something was weighing on Nanako’s mind.

“I don’t…” Nanako began. “I just don’t know. Part of me is glad we’ve had this easy a time preparing for Operation Downfall, but part of me is worried that they know we’re preparing something and are trying to lull us into a false sense of security.”

“Come on, Nanako,” replied Croswell. “The Neo Aragami might be smart, but they can’t magically know things they can’t actually know. As far as they’re concerned, we don’t exist, and there’s no one here. They killed everyone here already, so they won’t be coming back.”

“He’s right, you know,” came a follow-up from Natalia, as she entered the strategy room carrying what appeared to be Nanako’s God Arc. “Nanako, I finished the maintenance on your God Arc as you requested, and outfitted them for compatibility with the new quantum round. Croswell, come by the lab later for a checkup to see whether your new God Arc is functioning properly. But anyway…” Natalia approached Nanako and placed her hand on the taller woman’s shoulder. “We should be happy that we’ve had the time we’ve had to prepare. Why question it, you know?”

Nanako nodded. “I guess you’re right,” she spoke. “Thank you, Natalia… and thank you too, Croswell.” Nanako walked over to the wall, flipped a switch, and began to speak. 

“Citizens and God Eaters of Rhizome Duos,” she proclaimed. “Only a week remains until the commencement of Operation Downfall, and we are doing better than we ever have. Humanity’s fangs are at their sharpest, and come a week from now, we will use these fangs to tear the Neo Aragami apart and win for ourselves a bright new future!”

As Nanako’s voice rang out through the halls of Rhizome Duos over the base’s intercom, the entire base erupted in massive cheering. Morale was important, crucially so, and especially in times like this – and Nanako was better than anyone at raising morale.

Nanako’s speech, however, was interrupted by the sound of the alarm ringing out through the base. Someone… or, more likely, something had discovered the base and was on their doorstep.

“Gather a small team of God Eaters and meet me at the entrance,” spoke Nanako to Croswell as she grabbed her own God Arc from Natalia and strode off towards the door. “Whatever this is, it’s rather small… around the size of a human. We should be ready for anything, so don’t slack off… and most importantly, come back alive.”

***

Nanako’s heightened state of alert, however, proved to be unfounded, as what had been waiting at the entrance had not been a Neo Aragami, but rather a lone human. An impossibly tall man, towering above even Croswell at nearly six feet ten inches, the man identified himself as a God Eater named Baluar.

A chill ran down Nanako’s spine as she heard that name. Baluar was notable among the network of resistance groups as being one of the strongest God Eaters alive, carrying the title of “Humanity’s Strongest Soldier,” a title gained from his many battles and just as many victories.

“I’m glad I finally made it,” spoke Baluar. “How are preparations for Operation Downfall coming?”

“Very well,” came Nanako’s reply. “We’re at our readiest that we’ve ever been, and your arrival was the final piece we needed. Welcome to Rhizome Duos, Baluar.”

Nanako reached out to offer a handshake, which Baluar returned. “It’s good to be here,” he exclaimed. “But first… I’d like to know the strength of those with whom I will be working. Who is the strongest God Eater here?”

Everyone present looked in the direction of Nanako – and before she knew it, Baluar’s blade was at her throat, a crimson wing-like short blade that tore the very air itself apart as it sought its target. But it never got there, it never found its target, as Nanako instantly dropped to the ground and executed a low dash straight for Baluar, shifting her God Arc to its short blade form and slashing upward at Baluar, who dodged backwards.

“You bastard!” shouted Croswell, who readied his fists – but Nanako held out her hand, ordering him to stand down.

“No, Croswell,” announced Nanako. “This is something that needs to happen.” As she spoke that last word, Baluar thrust his blade directly at Nanako, but the latter executed a swift axe kick, sending Baluar’s blade crashing to the ground and taking Baluar’s arm, and the rest of his body, similarly downwards. Nanako stepped onto Baluar’s blade and ran up it, flipping over him and landing at his rear.

“You’re pretty good,” came Baluar’s words as he turned around, slashing at the air behind him. Nanako, however, dodged out of the way with a backwards handspring, before leaping skyward and descending on Baluar, who blocked her strike.

“Of course I am,” Nanako replied, a tone of sarcasm in her voice. “We’ve both seen more battles these past twelve years than most humans would in five lifetimes. If we hadn’t become stronger to compensate, we’d never have survived. Am I wrong?” As she called out those words, Nanako pulled back her blade and executed a low slash aiming at Baluar’s legs. Baluar responded with a short jump, clearing the path of Nanako’s blade, before responding further with a side kick forward to knock Nanako off-balance.

“No, you aren’t!” proclaimed Baluar, as his leg thrust forwards towards Nanako, as the latter responded in kind with a kick of her own, the two of them standing on one foot with their legs meeting at the ankle, locked in the air between them. Baluar spoke further, the air crackling with tension. “Why do you fight, Nanako? What do you fight for?”

“You know very well why I fight,” Nanako replied. “I fight so that I can win a future for all the people under my command and leadership here at Rhizome Duos – and for all of humanity at that. I made a promise all those years ago, a promise to lead humanity towards a new tomorrow, and I fully intend to keep it at all costs!”

“A promise, huh?” mused Baluar, before he lowered his foot to the ground as Nanako did the same. “I can see very clearly what kind of person you are,” he spoke, withdrawing his God Arc and offering his own hand for a handshake. “With your conviction and your strength, you truly are one who will lead humanity towards tomorrow.”

Nanako returned Baluar’s handshake. “I look forward to working with you, Baluar.”

***

The air was cool and crisp as Nanako Kawashima roused from her slumber. Across Rhizome Duos, others followed suit – one by one, the many God Eaters of Rhizome Duos’ combined force awoke and prepared for battle.

But this day brought with it no ordinary tidings of war.

No, today was the day humanity had been awaiting for twelve years. On this day, Operation Overlord would finally begin, and with it, the plan to slay the Gehenna once and for all.

After getting ready – dressing herself and taking up her God Arc – Nanako made her way to the strategy room, where she was shortly joined by Alan Croswell, Sasha Andersen, and Natalia Estheim, Rhizome Duos’ core members and top soldiers, as well as visiting God Eaters Lyrr and Baluar, who had traveled long and far to make their way here to join in the final assault on the sleeping Gehenna.

And it was on this day, at this very moment, that Nanako sat her soldiers down and finally, for the first time, relayed to them the true nature of Operation Downfall.

“We will hike north-northwest from Rhizome Duos,” began Nanako, unrolling a large map and laying it out on the table between them, “for three miles, where, right here…” Nanako pointed to a location on the map marked with an X. “…We will meet up with a joint regiment of God Eaters from Aberdeen and Newburgh, across the Grampian Mountains. From here, we will change course and head due west for two miles before turning northwest and continuing for two more, where we will rendezvous with another team of God Eaters from Lochgilphead to the west. Together, our teams will head due north, arriving at Loch Lomond, where the hive’s main entrance is located. 

“Here, we will rendezvous with one final helper and descend into the hive and navigate through until we reach the main chamber, where the Gehenna will be waiting for us. Along the way, our forces will split up into two teams. Team Alpha, comprising myself and the forces from Rhizome Duos, as well as our mystery helper, will descend on the Gehenna from above and enter through its back vents. Its insides will be vast and labyrinthine, but our objective is not navigation. Instead, we will combine our fire and blast a bath straight through to its core. Destroying the core will result in the disintegration of the Gehenna into Oracle matter and the end of Operation Downfall. While this is going on, Team Bravo, comprising the God Eaters from Aberdeen, Newburgh, and Lochgilphead, will descend to the bottom of the chamber through the hive’s passageways. Once they emerge, they will focus their fire on one of the Gehenna’s eyes at a time, so as to distract it for as long as possible. We don’t know what internal defenses the Gehenna possesses – more than likely this will be some sort of heretofore undiscovered Neo Aragami – but Team Bravo’s objective will be to keep the Gehenna from mobilizing these defenses for as long as possible. Is that clear?”

Natalia, Sasha, Croswell, Baluar, and Lyrr all responded in unison with an emphatic “Yes, ma’am!” All of them had waited just as long as had Nanako for this day; it meant just as much to them as it did to her, and as long as they drew breath, they would ensure that Operation Downfall was a success.

“But wait,” Croswell spoke up. “Who’s this ‘mystery helper’ you referred to?”

Nanako merely smiled in response. “Well… let’s just say that he’s our ace in the hole. He can be a bit unreliable, but when it comes down to it, he’s the strongest there is.”

“The strongest there is, huh?” Baluar interjected. As one who held the title of “humanity’s strongest soldier,” Baluar would have to see for himself whether this mystery helper’s strength truly measured up to his own.

“Anyway, we depart in 0300 hours. Gather up your individual squads, brief them, and assemble at the entrance by that time. Dismissed!”

***

In her room, where she had returned after the Operation Downfall briefing, Nanako sat on her bed, steeling herself for the coming journey. She thought back on all she had been through to get here – her meeting with Sigma twelve years ago, Cyrus’ murder, the Gehenna’s awakening and subsequent destruction of the Glasgow Branch, Sigma’s final gift, and the time of turmoil that came afterwards, with the surviving humans fighting for what resources remained until the God Eaters that were still alive banded together in groups to bring order. The Neo Aragami took the lives of countless thousands, tens of thousands even, of humans… but now, that was all about to come to an end. Today, humanity’s ultimate joint force would storm the Neo Aragami hive and bring an end to this living hell.

“So this is it, huh?” Nanako spoke to herself. “By the end of the day, our twelve-year nightmare will be over. Finally…”

A voice from behind Nanako responded. “You have done admirably, Nanako.”

“Have I?” came Nanako’s reply – before she realized that she should have been the only person in the room.

Whirling about, Nanako prepared to face her would-be guest… only to discover that she was indeed alone.

Nanako stood there, puzzled – until the voice spoke again.

“What’s the matter, Nanako? I’m right here!”

Nanako continued to look around the room, yet she still found no one. Who was talking to her, and from where?

And that’s when she noticed – the voice seemed to be coming from her own God Arc, resting against the wall by the doorway to her room.

And she knew that voice.

“Wait…” Nanako began. “Could it be… you are–”

Nanako had no time to finish her sentence, as her God Arc rose into the air–

–and began to transform.

***

Nanako watched in awe as her God Arc, which she had possessed ever since the Gehenna disaster twelve years ago, emitted a bright, blinding light as it rose into the air. Slowly, it began to bubble and warp, its form shifting and altering behind the emanating brilliance.

And as Nanako looked on, her mouth ajar, her God Arc took on an all too familiar form.

The light faded as before her stood the very man who had set her on this journey in the first place.

Before her stood the form of Sigma.

Nanako was dumbfounded. “But you…” she began, “you’re… you… how?”

“It’s really quite simple,” replied Sigma. “When I transferred my Oracle Cells into your body to give you the ability to survive the Gehenna’s initial onslaught and grant you a God Arc, my will transferred along with them. Without the power to reconstitute my body, I lay in wait for the past twelve years, watching as you rallied the people and slew the Gehenna’s spawn. With each of them you devoured, I regained a bit of my power, watching the world around you and waiting for the day I would be able to take on my original form.”

“So,” Nanako interjected, “you mean you’ve been watching over me this entire time?”

“That is correct,” came Sigma’s response. “Even in your darkest hour, when you might have felt truly and utterly alone, you were never truly alone, for I was always there by your side. You have done better than I could ever have imagined in leading humanity towards a new tomorrow, and while I would want nothing more than to stand by your side now in humanity’s deciding hour…”

Sigma looked at Nanako, his eyes aimed at her right hand.

“…you need my aid in another respect. You must use me to strike the deciding blow to the Gehenna and free humanity from the chains that have trapped them for the past twelve years. I know you can do it, Nanako. You are more than capable of wielding me to my fullest potential.”

Nanako merely looked on, tears welling up in her eyes. She had this ally the entire time, and now he stood by her in her time of direst need.

“I guess you’ll need to be going now,” Sigma continued, “so I’ll have to transform again… but know, no matter my form, that I will always be by your side, supporting you. But before I go…”

Sigma straightened himself up, his expression suddenly taking on an incredibly dire air.

“The Gehenna is not what you think. Make utmost haste to the hive, but be aware that what awaits you may not be what you expect… or what you even want to see. No matter what happens, though, you must be prepared to do whatever it takes to bring the Gehenna down. No matter what you have to do. Can you promise me that, Nanako?”

Nanako returned Sigma’s gaze, nodding in affirmation. She had lived through twelve years of hell, as had all of humanity up to this point. Nanako knew that she had a duty to annihilate the Gehenna at all costs.

And with that, Sigma stepped back and began to emit the same brilliant light, assuming the form of Nanako’s God Arc when the light faded. Nanako took her blade in hand, burning with a renewed determination to lead humanity towards the end of their twelve-year waking nightmare.

But what was with Sigma’s final words…?

***

The day had been long and hard. Nanako, leading the joint task force of Rhizome Duos, had departed at the crack of dawn and headed northwest. Over the course of their long and distant journey, Nanako’s team had rendezvoused with the three other teams from allied resistance groups, increasing their ranks approximately fivefold. Together, the largest contingent of God Eaters the world had ever seen marched northward, towards Loch Lomond, where the main entrance of the Neo Aragami hive, and the Gehenna’s resting place, was located. However, upon their arrival, what they found waiting for them was a deployment of what had to be hundreds and hundreds of Neo Aragami, seemingly ready for their arrival.

Sasha, Croswell, Natalia, Lyrr, and Baluar all simultaneously readied their God Arcs –

–however, Nanako held them back, for it did not take long to realize that, in spite of its size, the Rhizome Duos joint force was not the Neo Aragami’s current target.

Rather, the attention of the innumerable eyes dotting the bodies of the hundreds of Neo Aragami were all fixated on a single man, standing on the banks of the loch. Armed with only a single short blade-type God Arc, the man was easily identifiable as a God Eater… but how would he alone survive against the hundreds of Neo Aragami that were out for his blood?

It would appear that they were about to find out.

“Really… only this few of you?” the man spoke, scoffing at the ranks of Neo Aragami before him. “It’ll take more of you than that to stop me!”

And with that, as the Neo Aragami surrounding him stood still, the man inhaled…

…and cried out.

“RELEASE!!”

A sinister aura overtook the bank of Loch Lomond as the God Arcs of every member of the joint task force simultaneously cried out in agony. Whatever this man was, it certainly wasn’t human–

–a feeling that was immediately confirmed, as a powerful shockwave blasted out from the man and buffeted the members of the task force, causing them to stagger as a bright flash followed. When the light faded, a number of visible changes had come over the man – his coat had been overtaken by a red hue, and some sort of cracked red armor covering his left eye and the corresponding side of his face.

An Aragami.

Nanako and her fellow God Eaters could only watch in awe, restraining their own God Arcs, as the half-Aragami before them tore into the Neo Aragami in the vicinity with relentless brutality, cleaving them in half one after the other with his blade while displaying a power that far exceeded what his body should by all rights be capable of. The carnage was unspeakable; never before had the members of the joint task force seen such pure battle ability and prowess. In no time at all, every last Neo Aragami before them had been laid out, their countless bodies cleaved in twain. 

Croswell was the first to speak up. “I’ve heard of being strong,” he began, his voice shaky from a combination of fear and awe, “but this… this is something else entirely!”

“I’ve never even seen an Aragami OR a Neo Aragami fight like this,” came Sasha’s equally disturbed voice. “What even IS this guy?”

“He’s, well,” began Nanako. “…he’s our mystery helper, the one I mentioned during the briefing. His name is Thomas Beoblade, and he’s the former leader of a special ops unit called the Infinity Unit.”

“Sounds impressive,” Baluar interjected. “I wonder if he’d ever consent to a battle?”

“Don’t bother,” came Nanako’s curt reply. “Even you’d never stand a chance. I might, given… exigent circumstances, but I certainly wouldn’t come out unscathed.”

The conversation among members of the joint task force was interrupted by Beo disengaging his Aragami form and turning to face them. “You must be the ones from the anti-Gehenna task force, huh?” he called out. “I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news for you. The hive isn’t here.”

Everyone, Nanako included, let out a collective gasp. They’d come all this way, only for the hive, which had been confirmed to be right here, beneath Loch Lomond, to just… not BE there?

Nanako couldn’t believe it. “What do you mean, the hive’s ‘not here?’” She got up from her crouching position and walked over to where Beo stood amidst the hundreds of Neo Aragami corpses.

“Just what it sounds like,” Beo replied. The entrance was supposed to be through an underwater cave in the loch, but no such cave exists. We’ve been had.”

“Not quite,” came a response from Nanako’s direction. Her God Arc had spoken, much to the readily apparent surprise of everyone involved.

Nanako gulped, nervous about having to explain the situation. Sigma, however, had other ideas. 

He leapt out of Nanako’s hand and assumed his humanoid form. “Beo here is correct,” he stated. “The hive is not here. However, it’s not that it’s not here ‘in this place’…”

“…but rather, it’s not here ‘in this time.’”

Croswell had had enough. “What the hell do you mean, it ain’t here ‘in this time?’ And for that matter, Nanako, who the hell IS this guy?”

Nanako cleared her throat and told everyone the story of that day in 2067, the day the Gigantes failed, and the day Sigma gave her the power to fight on in a world without hope. 

“So what you’re saying,” interjected Lyrr, scratching his head, “is that Sigma here turned himself into a God Arc?”

Sigma nodded in affirmation. “That’s about the long and short of it. I converted my body into pure Oracle Cells and inserted them into Nanako’s body in 2067. Nanako Kawashima as she exists now is essentially half Aragami.”

“Is… is that true?” came Sasha’s inquiry upon hearing this news. Nanako merely nodded in response.

Croswell stepped forward and slapped Nanako’s back, grinning. “So what if she’s an Aragami, a human, or a refrigerator? She’s done more for us, and for all of humanity, than anyone ever has. If it hadn’t been for her, we’d all be dead in a ditch somewhere.”

The members of Rhizome Duos all nodded, cheers of affirmation rising forth from the crowd.

“But anyway, Sigma,” Baluar spoke up, “what did you mean when you said that the hive isn’t ‘in this time?’”

“I’ll explain.” Sigma cleared his throat. “The Gehenna is a being that exists outside the normal flow of time. When it awoke in 2067, it awoke not from a physical location as is commonly believed, but rather from a dimension outside of time itself. It spent two years traveling the planet and bringing it to ruin, then returned to its home timeline to sleep.”

Natalia, calculations running in her head, was the next to come forward. “So, in other words, you’re saying that the Neo Aragami have been able to come to our dimension as a result of the temporal warp caused by the Gehenna’s sheer temporospatial displacement?”

“That is correct,” came Sigma’s reply. “The hive entrances that have been reported over the years were not in fact physical entrances to an underground complex, but rather the locations of timespace portals linking to the Gehenna’s home timeline. If we are to get at the Gehenna…”

“…then we’ll need to travel to the past and attack it at the point of its emergence into our timeline?” continued Nanako.

“Correct,” answered Sigma. “We’ll use the portal here, beneath the surface of Loch Lomond, to travel to the year 2067 and change the past by defeating the Gehenna before it can ravage the planet.”

“But then,” Nanako posited, “what will happen to us, from this timeline?”

Sigma was silent. “That’s… well, we’ll have to find out when the time comes. Now, is everyone ready?”

Croswell gave a hearty chuckle. “What the hell kind of question is that? I’ve been ready to kick that monster’s ass ever since it destroyed the planet. With these fists, I’ll pound its ass to kingdom come!”

Sigma nodded. “Good. Now, Nanako, if you will…”

As Sigma once more took the form of Nanako’s God Arc, Nanako took her blade in hand and turned towards the surface of the loch. “Is everyone ready? Then… follow me!”

Nanako leapt from the bank of Loch Lomond and plunged beneath the water’s surface.

And as she swam downwards, hearing the splashes of countless others behind her, she knew…

…that the dawn of a new age for humanity was finally within her grasp.

***

“Where… when…? What’s going on…?”

All was silent as Nanako descended to the bed of Loch Lomond, first through water and then through something that wasn’t entirely water as the space around her began to twist and warp. It was a feeling wholly alien to Nanako, and indeed to everyone involved, as the God Eaters that comprised Rhizome Duos’ joint task force moved to travel to the past using the temporal displacement at the bottom of the loch.

No one, not even Sigma, knew quite what would happen, or where they’d come out on the other side, but one thing they all knew was that what awaited them on the other end of the warp would be a moment where the past, present, and future all hung in the balance…

***

::DECEMBER 2067::

The air was heavy with quaking and rumbling as Nanako and company emerged from the surface of Loch Lomond. It did not take long to figure out the reason for this, for the sun was blotted out by the immense, incomprehensibly massive form of the Gehenna, casting all before it in shadow and rendering an artificial night at its feet. 

Far above the heads of the joint task force, clouds blanketed the sky, pierced by the Gehenna’s enormous form. Lightning struck with alarming regularity near its head, drawn by its imposing jagged horn, which itself was the size of a small city. With what seemed like an impossibly slow gait but was in actuality impossibly fast, the Gehenna marched ever onwards, towards–

–the Glasgow Branch.

“We’ve arrived in the year 2067 at the moment of the Gehenna’s awakening,” came the voice of Sigma echoing from Nanako’s God Arc. “As we speak, it marches onwards towards its first destination, the Glasgow Branch. If we do nothing, history will refuse to change, and the Gehenna will exact the same fate upon the planet as it did twelve years ago from our present time.”

Nanako swallowed. Right now, she and Sigma would be standing there, on the roof of the Glasgow Branch, preparing the Gehenna for firing. She turned to look down at her God Arc, but…

“And one other thing, Nanako,” Sigma continued. “Under no circumstances are you to make yourself known to your past self,” he spoke, a tone of utmost caution in his voice. “If your past self knows you’re here, it will create a temporal contradiction and our existence in this timeline could be jeopardized. Do you understand?”

Nanako merely nodded. That wasn’t what she came here for; her mission, as well as the mission of everyone who came with her, was nothing more than to slay the Gehenna once and for all.

And so she steeled herself and turned to face her soldiers.

“Men and women of Rhizome Duos and elsewhere!” she shouted. “Before us stands our mortal enemy, our most hated foe! On this day, at this moment, we will enter the Gehenna, crush its core, and change history once and for all! No more will those in our timeline be forced to suffer every waking moment not knowing if the next would come, for on this day we will change the future!”

Nanako’s proclamation was met with riotous cheering.

“The plan is as follows,” continued Nanako. “We will blast a hole in the Gehenna’s leg and continue upwards. Never attempt to take a natural route – we’ll all have to pool our power and blast away at its insides making a beeline for the core, which has been theorized to be located just behind the bottom of its head. If we make haste, it should take us only an hour or two to reach our destination, but the real trouble will come when we get there. Neo Aragami are very likely spawned from the core, and it will likely try and mobilize previously unheard of Neo Aragami against us. This is where a second team, remaining outside, will come in. Sasha, Lyrr, can I count on you to lead the sniper team?”

The two of them nodded. The future’s strongest snipers would do their part to lead humanity towards its promised tomorrow.

“In that case, a sniper team led by Sasha and Lyrr will remain outside the Gehenna, firing upon one of its eyes at a time to distract it for as long as possible and restrain its movements. The less it moves, the more time we’ll have, and the more easily we’ll be able to ascend inside the Gehenna. No matter what, don’t let it get to the Glasgow Branch! Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am!” The snipers of the joint task force all shouted out in unison. They would do their part to halt the Gehenna, no matter what.

“Alright then,” proclaimed Nanako. Rhizome Duos Joint Task Force… move out!”

And as the entire force simultaneously took aim at the Gehenna’s nearest leg, a palpable sense of tension could be felt over the joint task force. This was the decisive moment that would decide the final fate of all the humans from the future whence they came.

“Fire!!!”

***

With a decisive blast, Nanako and the joint task force of Rhizome Duos opened a hole in the leg of the Gehenna, jumping in before the monster took its next step. The attack had no noticeable effect on the Gehenna, which continued its stride just as it had before.

“We’re going in!” Nanako called out. “Aim high and blast your way through!”

As Nanako and the rest of the joint task force members who had entered the Gehenna readied their God Arcs, Nanako called out once more, addressing the members of the sniper team.

“Remember your task,” she shouted. “Distract the Gehenna by aiming for its eyes! The Gehenna must NOT reach the Glasgow Branch!”

The sniper team nodded in acknowledgement as the Gehenna’s leg began to take off. As Nanako and her team held on, the Gehenna’s leg soared into the air, coming back down a good few miles later after what had to be three or five minutes of travel time.

Sasha looked onwards as the Gehenna’s leg traveled away from the sniper team’s position. “Lyrr,” she began, turning to her fellow member of the team, “how’s your ultra-long-range sniping?”

“I’m not the absolute best at super long distances,” he responded, scratching his head, “but I’ll do whatever I need to do.”

Sasha nodded. “Great to hear. Now follow my lead. Men, are your rounds ready?”

In response, all the members of the sniper team simultaneously loaded their God Arcs with the hyper long-range destructive round developed by Natalia Estheim. This round, on impact, would set off a colorful chain of explosions that chewed through whatever they hit. Specially designed to tear apart Neo Aragami, Natalia’s special round was the ace in the hole for Rhizome Duos’ snipers. And now, that might would be turned against the Gehenna en masse, as the sniper team turned their God Arcs on a single eye on the Gehenna’s nearest leg.

“Aim carefully and stagger your shots starting from the left of the line,” Sasha ordered, preparing the sniper team for their assault. “Ensure a constant stream of firing with no interruptions. Ready? Aim… now FIRE!!”

Like a line of dominoes falling, a steady chain of firework-like bursts erupted on the Gehenna’s nearest leg as the sniper team’s assault began. Little by little, the successive blasts ate away at the Gehenna’s leg, eventually leaving a sizable crater where the eye used to be. Like clockwork, the sniper team shifted their target to the next eye nearby, repeating the process and reloading their Oracle supply when necessary.

Gradually, ever so gradually, the Gehenna’s pace slowed, then came to a complete halt. The sniper team did not let up, of course, and continued to shift their target to eye after eye as the rounds ate through the Gehenna’s body, leaving holes and craters behind. In terms of the Gehenna’s massive body that dwarfed even the tallest of mountains, this might not have seemed like much; however, every bit of damage counted when it came to slowing the Gehenna’s progress. They had to do whatever it took in order to prevent the Gehenna from reaching the Glasgow Branch.

**

It had been roughly an hour and a half since the joint task force had plowed into the Gehenna’s leg and began their ascent. By Nanako’s estimate, they had gained about two miles’ worth of altitude, traveling by blasting straight up with the gun forms of everyone who either had one or could change form, then climbing as fast as they could up the sides of the tunnels using their God Arcs’ blade forms. It was a steady alternation between blasting vertical tunnels as high as they could, then ascending at top speed until they had to open another tunnel.

Throughout their climb, they could hear the steady rumble of the sniper team’s assault on the Gehenna’s eyes and the resulting sway and stagger in its step. They were doing it; their assault was working. With this, they could keep the Gehenna busy and prevent it from reaching the Glasgow Branch…

But as they climbed higher and higher, a strange feeling began to overtake them. It was not entirely dissimilar to the sensation they had felt when diving into Loch Lomond in 2079, in their home timeline. It was the sensation of intense temporal distortion, and the closer they got to where the Gehenna’s core was located, the stronger this feeling became, the warping oppressive pressure that permeated to the core of their very beings.

Nonetheless, they continued to press on, blasting upwards and then climbing as fast as their bodies could climb. Eventually, a faint red light began to suffuse the walls of their makeshift tunnel… as did something else entirely.

Around them, the walls began to shift and bubble, extruding strange and otherworldly forms outwards towards the Gehenna’s would-be intruders. The Gehenna was forming its flesh into raw Neo Aragami shapes; rather than the established forms the God Eaters were used to, such as Stalkers and Watchers, these were misshapen and formless, with half-formed appendages and various eyes of different shapes dotting their surfaces. These monstrous Neo Aragami blobs reached out with grasping limbs that stretched and shifted in an attempt to strike down the pests that had infiltrated the Gehenna’s body – however, the joint task force was not going to go down without a fight. One by one, the God Eaters slashed and blasted away at the Neo Aragami that advanced on their position, striking them down without a second thought as they gradually continued to climb.

And after what seemed like days – and likely was, due to the internal temporal distortion, even though only a few hours had passed on the outside – the glow from the core had reached truly intense levels, and the pulsating of the temporal flow could be palpably felt to the bone. Beyond this wall, Nanako knew, lay the Gehenna’s core, and with a single blow, they would blast straight through it and steal back their own future. Nanako cut through the wall between her and the core…

…but what await her beyond was no pulsating organ or brilliant orb.

“Sigma… what is this?”

***

What Nanako was gazing upon was a massive swirling vortex that seemed to be pulling in all of existence around it. Nanako noticed countless images caught amidst the whorls of time, images of what appeared to be scenes from the past twelve years. She could see images of the Gehenna’s initial rampage, of humans being torn apart by Neo Aragami… and images from her own past – of her and Sigma’s firing of the Gigantes on the approaching Gehenna, of the first time she rallied together a small band of God Eaters to bring order, of her first meetings with Sasha, with Croswell, and with Natalia… and of the moment she and the rest of the joint task force dove into Lock Lomond in 2079.

“This is the true nature of the Gehenna’s core,” came the voice of Sigma, who morphed into his human form and stood in front of Nanako. “At the heart of the Gehenna is what is known as a temporal nexus, where multiple timelines intersect.”

“Could you put that in terms I can understand, please?” replied Nanako, impatient.

Sigma cleared his throat, a solemn tone permeating his voice.

“What this means… is that the Gehenna’s existence is all that is holding future timelines together. Timelines, branching futures, brought about by the Gehenna are anchored on the time-space continuum by the Gehenna’s continued existence.”

A shiver ran down Nanako’s spine. “So, that means…”

“Correct,” interjected Sigma. “If we destroy the Gehenna’s core, future timelines will come undone and vanish from history. That means that you, me, all the God Eaters of Rhizome Duos, and all the humans alive in the year 2079… we’ll all cease to exist.”

Nanako was aghast. The Gehenna had this significant a role? Its temporal interference was this powerful? Destroying it would cause Nanako’s future to be destroyed, taking her with it?

No, she thought. She couldn’t do this. She had no right to destroy everyone she held dear just to prevent her future from coming to be…

…but, all of a sudden, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Croswell was there, meeting her eyes with an approving gaze. Then there was Natalia’s hand, and Baluar’s, and Beo’s; everyone here would gladly give up their lives, their own existences, for the sake of restoring time to its rightful flow.

Nanako gazed forward, tears in her eyes – before catching sight in the vortex of a lone human figure gazing back at her, joined shortly by another, and another, and yet another.

Before her stood all of the civilians who called Rhizome Duos their home. They all gazed back at Nanako with the same determined expression worn by Croswell, Natalia, Baluar, and Beo – all of them were more than willing to lay down their lives to set the future on its rightful course.

“Are you…” Nanako began, apprehensively. “Are you sure it’s okay?”

The figures in the vortex merely nodded in unison. They were ready.

“Nanako,” Sigma spoke, “I take it you’ve made up your mind?”

“I have,” Nanako responded. “I’ll do it.”

“In that case, listen to me. In another timeline, where you and I succeeded in stopping the Gehenna, I used an attack that converted all of my life force into an attack that emanated a massive laser blast to completely dissolve the Gehenna… but for this, we’ll do something different. I’ll impart to you my ultimate attack… are you ready?”

Nanako nodded.

“Alright,” Sigma answered. “Listen to me. I am going to completely reintegrate myself into your body. The process will be painful, but you need to bear with it. Once I’ve fused with you, you’ll hear my thoughts, my will, echoing in your head. Just do what those thoughts tell you.”

Nanako merely nodded once more, but Sigma did not give her any time to respond. He rushed forward and impaled his hand through Nanako’s heart, beginning to dissolve his own body and insert it into Nanako’s bloodstream.

And after a few painful minutes, Sigma was no more, and Nanako’s God Arc with him. 

True to Sigma’s earlier words, Nanako could hear Sigma’s words echoing within her, and she did as they instructed. Readying herself, she faced the vortex…

…and cried out.

“Goddess Blade… SIGMA!!!”

***

Nanako’s body was suffused with a gentle light as she rose into the air. From her back and arms, countless blades of varying sizes emerged, forming into one large rotating ring behind her back and multiple rings around her arms. 

She could feel the bandages around her dead eye come undone. As they loosened their grip around Nanako’s head, the eye she thought was gone instead shone forth with a brilliant beam of energy that punched through the walls of the Gehenna’s body as it let forth a deafening sound.

::Close your eyes…

::Nanako, can you hear me?

Sigma’s voice echoed in Nanako’s head.

::Yeah, I can hear you loud and clear.

::Good. We’ll need to use those blades to stabilize the vortex. Focus your will on the center of the vortex and let loose with all your power!

Nanako did as instructed, focusing all her power on the vortex before her. As if responding to her will, the blades circling around her halted their movement and shot outwards, changing directions mid-air and impaling themselves through the vortex’s whirling walls. Little by little, the raging torrent of temporal energy ground to a halt, appearing as though it were a frozen whirlpool.

All of a sudden, however, Nanako and the rest of the members of the joint task force who were present found themselves buffeted by an immense shockwave front. The vortex, having halted, was releasing en masse the energy that now had nowhere to go.

::Sigma, what’s going on?

::The timelines are beginning to come undone! With nowhere to go, all of these futures are turning outwards and releasing all their potential energy at once! We have to act fast!

::Okay, so what do I do?

::You have to find the courage to face your future, and the futures of everyone here, head-on. Gaze into the vortex, brace yourself against the energy of the frozen timelines…

::…and OPEN YOUR EYES!

Nanako steeled herself and slowly lifted her eyelids. In response, the beam of energy blasted out once more, aiming directly at the center of the frozen vortex.

What happened next could only be described as someone pressing the rewind button on a remote. As more and more energy from Nanako’s eye poured into the vortex, it began to spin in reverse, pulling the formerly outflowing timelines back inwards.

::What’s going on…?

::The energy from your eye is forcing the Gehenna to reset itself. It’ll rewind itself, and all the futures it brought about as a result of its actions, to a zero point!

::And that means…?

::The future is being undone, Nanako! Keep it up and this timeline will be restored to its rightful state—

—but Nanako couldn’t keep it up. Little by little she could feel her eye giving out, the energy output gradually fading until it stopped entirely.

Without the energy influx, the vortex grumbled and began to spin in its initial direction once more, shattering the blades holding it in place…

…but Nanako had come too far to let their mission end in vain.

She steeled herself again and began to walk forward.

“Nanako, what are you doing?” came Croswell’s worried yell.

Nanako glanced over her shoulder. “I’m setting things right,” she replied. “Croswell, Natalia, Baluar, Beo… and Sasha and Lyrr as well… I’m sorry, and goodbye.”

And with that, she turned around and walked into the whirling portal before her, her body consumed by a blinding brilliance which expanded outwards, swallowing everything——

***

::MAY 15TH, 2074

“So you’re really leaving us, then?”

A voice came from behind Nanako as she stepped onto the extended bridge that led onto the boat that would take her to her destination. Over the past seven years, what later became known as the Gehenna Incident found its way into the legends told among Fenrir and its members, the grand tale of two people who together fought and vanquished the greatest threat humanity had ever known and likely would ever know. Only the people of the Glasgow Branch knew the truth, of course, but since then Nanako had grown into someone who was more than capable of living up to the legends that existed about her. 

And on this day, the twenty-first anniversary of her birth, Nanako Kawashima was preparing to take the next step in her journey of life. Once she boarded this ship, she would be on her way to return to Japan, the land of her birth, to do what Cyrus Casterfield had wanted her to do all those years ago – she would join the Fenrir Far East Branch and finally take the God Arc compatibility exam to become a God Eater. This, she knew, would truly make her parents proud… and, hey, maybe she’d see them again, should she find them at the Far East Branch.

Nanako put aside her stray thoughts and turned to face the crowd that had accompanied her to the pier.

“I sincerely thank all of you for raising me these past twelve years, especially in Cyrus’ absence. You are all like family to me, and I will miss you dearly. But now, I leave to start a new chapter in my life. I will return to the land of my birth and enlist on the front lines as a God Eater to fight the Aragami.

“The Gehenna Incident seven years ago taught me something – if we want to fight for humanity’s future, we have to do it ourselves. Sure, we can make more weapons like the Gigantes to drive off Aragami, but what worth is a future won at the cost of human life? This is what I learned from Cyrus… and from you, Sigma. You taught me that if I want to make a difference, that difference has to start with me.”

Nanako smiled, wiping back tears. “Farewell, my dear, dear friends. I pray you find yourselves well down the line!”

And with that, she stepped onto the ship that would take her over the seas to Japan— 

—and towards the future she had worked so hard to win for herself and for all of humanity.


End file.
